Heretofore, there have been proposed a number of devices for mounting on floating vessels with rolls or drums which dip into an oil slick to collect oil floating on the surface of water. Generally, these drums are rotated while partially submerged in water and are covered with a material which has an affinity for oil. Devices, such as rollers, squeegees, or doctor blades are used to remove the oil from the surface of the rotating drum.
One of the problems with the previous drum-type oil collection apparatuses has been in separating the water from the oil to efficiently collect the oil. In many prior art devices, the surface of the drum which is out of the water rotates forwardly in a direction of travel of the apparatus. This tends to force surface oil and surface debris below the surface of the water where it can be more difficult or impossible to collect on the drum. As a result, oil tends to pass beneath the floating vessel rather than being collected. Problems are also encountered in removing collected oil from the surface of the drum and in offloading collected oil from the floating vessel.
A need also exists for an apparatus for collecting trash and oil from the surface of the water wherein the apparatus is small and maneuverable enough to be operated within a marina or other confined area.